3 Simple Habits for Long-Term Healthy Eating Success

If you’ve tried traditional diets in the past and get frustrated every time you “fall off the wagon,” it’s not you or your motivation that’s the problem. The problem is the diet itself. 

Dieting and counting calories may work in the short term, but it’s rarely sustainable. It leaves most people feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and ultimately back at square one. Fad diets typically don’t work long term because they’re based on deprivation — you can only feel deprived for so long before you throw in the towel and binge on chocolate bars and a bucket of fried chicken to fill the void. 

Instead of an all-or-nothing diet, try focusing on these 3 habits for sustainable healthier eating that make a big impact over time:

1. Don’t count calories. Focus on nutrients instead. 

It’s good to be aware of roughly how many calories you consume on average so you aren’t consistently eating way more than your body is burning. However, calories are only one small part of the whole nutrition picture, and focusing on calorie-counting every day is counterproductive to your health. 

It’s time consuming, often leads to obsessive behaviors having to track every little thing you ate or drank, and creates a sense of confinement when it comes to your relationship with food. All of these things turn on your body’s stress response, which also suppresses your immune system and metabolism — something you DON’T want if you’re trying to lose weight. 

Instead, focus on how many nutrients you’re getting from your food. If you’re consistently eating nutrient-dense foods with a good balance of carbs, fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals, then you’ll feel satisfied longer. When you practice mindful eating habits, then you’re able to tune into your body’s needs and likely will feel satisfied with less food, so you won’t be over-consuming calories anyway. 

Empty-calorie foods and beverages are where this can sneak up on you. Start to increase your awareness on what foods you typically reach for throughout the week — are there more nutrient-dense foods like fruits, vegetables, quality protein, and whole grains? Or are there more foods that have a high amount of calories with little to no nutrients in return? These would include things like sodas, alcohol, chips, candy, cakes, donuts, and fast food.

I love a glass of wine just as much as the next person, but if you’re indulging in a few glasses multiple times a week, that’s a lot of excess calories you’re not likely to burn off. More importantly, those calories aren’t doing anything good for your body in terms of nutrients. What’s worse is that alcohol actually slows down your body’s ability to break down fat and increases your hunger hormones, so you’ll eat more. 

At the end of the day, focusing on nutrient-dense foods will not only help you reach your weight goals, but you’ll have more energy to take care of your loved ones too. 

2. Start each day with a clean slate, rather than punishing yourself. 

So often I hear new clients say that after a day of overindulging on “bad” foods they sabotage themselves for the rest of the week. They feel that all progress has gone out the window, so why bother? 

That’s understandable and definitely frustrating, but I want to encourage you to instead look at each day as a new opportunity to start fresh. No matter what you ate the day before or how badly you “fell off the wagon,” learn from your pitfalls and start again the next day with a clean slate. 

Remember what I said in tip #1 about stress? Stress turns on our sympathetic nervous system, which is our fight, flight, or freeze response. When our body is in this state, it suppresses our digestion and metabolism. Punishing yourself turns on that stress response. 

No matter if you feel like you’ve failed, you can always start fresh and keep moving forward with healthier choices. You haven’t ruined your progress. 

3. Listen to your body & trust your gut.

No two bodies are alike. Lean into those foods that make you feel really energized and satisfied without feeling stuffed. Learn the cues your body gives you when you’re hungry rather than always relying on a set schedule. 

Resist the temptation to hop on the latest diet trend or food fad because someone said they lost 10 lbs that way. What works for one person doesn’t necessarily mean it’s best for you, and vice versa. At the end of the day, listen to your body and decide for yourself what foods really fuel you.  

Once you make these part of your don’t-even-have-to-think-about-it daily practice, making healthier choices and reaching your health goals becomes so much easier.

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